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Guidance derived from the National Trust experience see the Environment
and Conservation web site - http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/environment/.
Successes: Galloway cattle have helped to maintain suitable conditions
for short turf specialists such as adonis blue butterfly (L.
bellargus) and early gentian (Gentianella.
anglica). The cattle are especially suited to steeper slopes and
have also been successfully used in restoring grassland from dense scrub
in the Isle of Wight. Efforts have also been made to restore some 80 ha
of coastal land on Fullers Earth Clay to species-rich calcareous grassland.
The land was cultivated for cereals for a short period, having previously
been unimproved pasture. They are being allowed to revert naturally and
are grazed sympathetically by South Devon cattle, a species which appears
to thrive on poor quality forage.
Complexities: An example from the National Trust also shows the
complexity of interaction that can occur when re-introducing grazing.
In an experimental area on the South Devon coast using Soay sheep. Following
a period of successful breeding the sheep split into a ewe flock and a
ram flock. This resulted in the two areas used by the flocks effectively
being overgrazed including an area of maritime heath and maritime grassland
which did not need grazing. Much of the rest of the site was undergrazed.
It seems that the the grazing compartment was too small to accommodate
all year round sheep run on an minimal intervention basis.
General guidance: Similar considerations apply to grazing
on sand dunes and this section of the Guide should also be
looked at.
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